Papua is seeking to turn young people’s ideas into viable businesses by combining entrepreneurship education on university campuses with easier access to business licensing and a wider understanding of finance, investment, and digital technology.
The initiative, led by the Jayapura Regency Government through its Investment and One Stop Integrated Services Agency, or DPMPTSP, is being developed through the 2026 Go To Kampus program. The program introduces students to the practical side of doing business, including how to establish a legal enterprise, obtain a Business Identification Number, or NIB, through Indonesia’s Online Single Submission, or OSS, system, identify investment opportunities, and develop innovative business ideas.
At the same time, the administration is working with financial and economic institutions to make the business environment more accessible to young people and the wider community.
The policy reflects a broader development objective for Jayapura: moving young people from being primarily job seekers toward becoming entrepreneurs who can create employment for others.
For a region with substantial agriculture, fisheries, tourism, creative economy, and digital potential, local officials believe that building entrepreneurial knowledge early can help turn existing economic resources into new sources of income.
From Campus Education to Business Opportunities
The latest effort began with the implementation of the Go To Kampus 2026 program at the Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Pertanian, or STIPER, in Jayapura Regency.
Rather than treating the campus visit as a conventional government information session, the DPMPTSP has positioned the program as an educational and collaborative forum.
Gustaf Griapon, head of the Jayapura Regency DPMPTSP, said universities provide an important space for preparing young people not only academically but also for participation in the business and investment environment.
“Students are the generation that will become development actors in the future,” Gustaf said. He added that students should understand from campus how to establish a legal business, obtain an NIB through OSS, identify investment opportunities, and develop innovations that can create jobs.
The emphasis on legal business formation is important.
For a young entrepreneur, the initial step is to have an idea. A business also needs a recognized legal identity, access to appropriate financial services, and an understanding of the regulations governing its activities.
By introducing those concepts before students graduate, the local government hopes they will be better prepared to move from an idea to an operating enterprise.
Understanding the Business Environment Early
The Jayapura administration’s approach is based on a relatively simple premise: entrepreneurship is easier to develop when young people understand how the business system works.
The Go To Kampus program therefore covers several areas, including OSS, NIB, business legality, micro, small, and medium enterprises, the creative economy, investment, digital innovation, public services, and potential partnerships with the private sector.
The program is broader than conventional entrepreneurship training.
Students are being introduced to the institutional side of business as well as the creative side.
A student who wants to launch a food business, for example, needs more than a viable product. Understanding licensing, registration, financing, market access, and digital promotion can determine whether that idea remains a small informal activity or develops into a sustainable enterprise.
The same applies to students interested in agriculture, fisheries, technology, tourism, or creative industries.
Gustaf stated that the program aims to motivate students to begin identifying business opportunities while they are still in school.
The underlying message is that entrepreneurship does not have to begin after graduation.
From Job Seekers to Job Creators
The administration is particularly interested in changing the way young people view their future careers.
Gustaf said the government wants students not only to look for employment but also to consider how they could create jobs themselves.
“If there are students who already have businesses, we want to help them understand the legal and licensing aspects. If they do not yet have businesses, we want to broaden their understanding of the business and investment opportunities available in Jayapura Regency,” he said.
The distinction is significant for a developing regional economy.
Government employment and established companies cannot absorb every graduate. Encouraging entrepreneurship creates another pathway into economic activity.
A successful small enterprise can eventually become an employer, creating opportunities for other young people and supporting suppliers, distributors, and service providers around it.
That does not mean every student must become an entrepreneur. Rather, the policy seeks to ensure that entrepreneurship becomes a realistic option for those with the interest and capacity to pursue it.
Making Licensing Less Complicated
Education alone, however, cannot remove the practical barriers facing new businesses.
That is why the Jayapura administration has placed business licensing alongside entrepreneurship literacy.
Through DPMPTSP, the local government is encouraging easier licensing services for residents, including young people who want to start businesses.
The OSS system plays a central role in this process.
Indonesia’s online licensing framework allows business applicants to obtain an NIB and access licensing services for their businesses through a digital platform. For first-time entrepreneurs, understanding how to navigate such a system can make the difference between remaining informal and entering the formal economy.
The local government’s role is therefore not simply to tell people that they should establish businesses. It is also to explain how they can legally do so.
This practical connection adds a second dimension to the Go To Kampus initiative.
Students learn about entrepreneurship, while government services are brought closer to the people who may eventually need them.
A Wider Partnership With Financial Institutions
Jayapura’s strategy also recognizes that business development does not happen through government alone.
The 2026 program is being developed with strategic partners including the Financial Services Authority, or OJK, banks, and other relevant institutions.
Gustaf stated that the collaboration aims to provide students with a broader understanding of the economic ecosystem.
The subjects include financial literacy, legal investment, capital markets, banking, digital technology, and employment social security.
That range matters because new entrepreneurs often encounter several challenges simultaneously.
They need to understand how to manage money, distinguish legitimate investment opportunities from risky schemes, use banking services, operate digitally, and understand their responsibilities toward workers.
By bringing these institutions into the educational process, the local government is attempting to expose students to the wider ecosystem before they enter it independently.
Why Financial Literacy Matters
Entrepreneurship without financial literacy can create problems of its own.
A promising business can struggle if its owner does not understand cash flow, financing, investment risk, or the difference between business and personal finances.
The involvement of OJK, banks, and other financial institutions is therefore intended to provide students a more realistic understanding of how businesses interact with the financial system.
The program also introduces students to legal investment and the capital market.
For young Papuans, such knowledge can broaden the range of economic opportunities they consider. Business does not necessarily mean opening a physical shop. It can include digital enterprises, investment activities, creative businesses, agricultural ventures, technology startups, and partnerships with established companies.
The government wants students to understand those possibilities while also recognizing the responsibilities that come with them.
Jayapura’s Economic Potential
The economic characteristics of Jayapura Regency also connect to the policy.
Gustaf said the region has a range of economic potential that could be developed into business and investment opportunities.
That potential provides the raw material for entrepreneurship.
Agriculture can generate opportunities in cultivation, processing, packaging, and distribution. Fisheries can create businesses beyond primary production, including cold-chain services, processing, and marketing. Tourism can support accommodation, food services, transportation, and creative products.
Digital technology creates another layer of possibilities, particularly for young people who may be able to reach customers beyond the immediate geography of Papua.
The challenge is connecting these opportunities with people who have the knowledge and confidence to pursue them.
That is where the government sees universities playing a larger role.
The Campus as an Economic Incubator
Universities traditionally serve as places where students acquire academic knowledge. Jayapura’s local government wants them to become places where economic ideas can also emerge.
Gustaf said campuses should not only function as institutions for acquiring knowledge but also as centers for new ideas, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
That vision could be particularly relevant in Papua, where the distance between educational institutions and local economic development has sometimes been a practical challenge.
A university student studying agriculture, for example, may have direct knowledge of local farming conditions. Another student may understand digital marketing or information technology. A third may identify opportunities in tourism or fisheries.
Bringing those perspectives together can generate ideas that are rooted in local conditions rather than imported wholesale from other regions.
The role of government is then to help students understand how those ideas can become legitimate economic activities.
Digital Startups and the Creative Economy
The program explicitly encourages digital innovation.
The administration hopes the initiative will produce ideas ranging from creative businesses and digital startups to new approaches to MSME development, public service innovation, and investment.
For young people, digital businesses can offer an opportunity to overcome some geographic limitations.
A creative entrepreneur in Jayapura does not necessarily have to depend entirely on customers within the regency. With suitable internet access, digital payment systems, and effective marketing, products and services can potentially reach customers elsewhere in Indonesia and, in some cases, international markets.
That does not eliminate challenges such as logistics, connectivity, and access to capital. But it expands the potential market.
The government’s role in this environment is to help ensure that young entrepreneurs understand both the opportunities and the regulatory framework surrounding them.
Protecting Workers as Businesses Grow
The program’s inclusion of employment social security indicates that the administration is considering the long-term implications of business creation.
The program introduces students to the role of BPJS Ketenagakerjaan, alongside OJK, Bank Indonesia, the Indonesia Stock Exchange, banks, and technology institutions.
This matters because entrepreneurship eventually involves people.
A business that grows from one founder into an enterprise with employees takes on new responsibilities, including worker protection.
Introducing students to these responsibilities at an early stage can help establish a business culture in which growth is associated with legal compliance and social protection rather than simply increasing sales.
It also reinforces the government’s objective of developing a more formal and sustainable local business ecosystem.
Collaboration Is Central to the Strategy
Gustaf has repeatedly stressed that the government cannot develop the younger generation by itself.
His comments point to a network involving local government, OJK, Bank Indonesia, the Indonesia Stock Exchange, banks, technology companies, universities, and employment protection institutions.
Each organization contributes a different piece.
Government agencies can explain licensing and public services. Universities can provide knowledge and research. Financial institutions can explain capital and financial products. Technology companies can contribute digital expertise. Employment institutions can explain worker protection.
The result is potentially more useful than a single entrepreneurship seminar because students are exposed to the ecosystem they will encounter if they choose to establish a company.
Why Easier Licensing Matters for Local Development
The second part of Jayapura’s strategy is making the transition from idea to legal enterprise easier.
A complicated licensing process can discourage small entrepreneurs before they even begin. The opposite is also true. When entrepreneurs understand the requirements and can access services more easily, formalization becomes less intimidating.
Formal businesses can have advantages beyond legal compliance.
They may have better access to banking services, partnerships, government programs, and certain markets. Registration can also provide authorities with a clearer picture of the local business landscape.
For Jayapura, that information can become useful for future economic planning.
The government can gain a clearer understanding of the growing sectors, the concentration of entrepreneurs, and the types of support businesses may need.
In this sense, business licensing is not simply administrative paperwork. It can become part of the infrastructure of local economic development.
Building Confidence Among Young Papuans
There is also a less measurable element to the program: confidence.
Young people may have ideas but hesitate to act because they do not know where to begin.
Who should they contact? How do they register a business? What does an NIB do? How should they approach a bank? What makes an investment legal? How can a digital idea become a company?
The Go To Kampus program attempts to answer those questions before students leave university.
That is why Gustaf describes the program as more than socialization. It is intended to be a space for education, assistance, and collaboration between the government and higher education institutions.
The practical value of that approach will depend on whether students can continue receiving support after the initial sessions.
From Training to Measurable Outcomes
The next challenge for Jayapura is turning entrepreneurship literacy into actual businesses.
The program will be most meaningful if students move from learning about NIBs and investment to registering enterprises, developing products, accessing financing, and creating employment.
That process will take time.
Some ideas will fail. Others may remain small. A few could grow into businesses capable of employing others and contributing to the local economy.
The government’s role should therefore evolve alongside the entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurs can benefit from initial education, followed by licensing assistance, mentoring, access to financial information, business partnerships, and market development.
Such continuity would make entrepreneurship policy more than a one-off campus event.
Conclusion
The Jayapura Regency Government’s approach to youth entrepreneurship combines two elements that are often treated separately: knowledge and access.
Through the Go To Kampus 2026 program, students are being introduced to entrepreneurship, OSS, NIB, MSMEs, the creative economy, investment, and digital innovation. At the same time, DPMPTSP is encouraging easier business licensing so that residents who want to establish enterprises can navigate the formal system more effectively.
The involvement of OJK, Bank Indonesia, the Indonesia Stock Exchange, banks, technology institutions, and BPJS Ketenagakerjaan adds another layer by exposing students to finance, investment, digital technology, and worker protection.
For Papua, this approach has a broader development significance.
Young people are not only future employees. They can also become producers, investors, technology developers, farmers, traders, service providers, and employers.
Jayapura’s challenge now is to ensure that the knowledge delivered in classrooms and campus forums is followed by practical support outside them.
If students can move from ideas to legally registered businesses, from businesses to sustainable enterprises, and from enterprises to new jobs, the program could contribute to a stronger local economy.
That is the longer-term objective behind the administration’s message: making entrepreneurship easier to understand, easier to start and, ultimately, more capable of creating opportunities for the next generation of Jayapura.
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